Hosted at SPUD, the exhibition featured paintings, sculpture, live performance, and film. SPUD described it as “the best opening night we’ve ever had.”
We brought together artists from Ghanaian, Caribbean, Nigerian, Zimbabwean, and Black British backgrounds to co-create something extraordinary — work that was joyful, participatory, and deeply rooted in lived experience.

A Live link to Ghana sparked dance, drum and dreaming across boarders.

Through workshops in NHS units, schools, youth groups, care settings, and more, we:

• Captured stories of migration, identity, and transformation

• Explored traditional knowledge and well-being practices

• Created space for people to express, reflect, and connect

These stories became the foundation of the exhibition — a community-authored artwork built through trust, story-sharing, and care.

“It was a fabulous afternoon, everyone loved it.”

“We’d love to do this again another time if the opportunity arises.”

“I think everyone left with a new perspective, we felt uplifted, joyful and in touch with our humanity.  Also the drumming broke down many barriers and shows us that the world is one!”

• Agile, cross-sector co-creation.
  Co-created a multidisciplinary exhibition at pace, showcasing collaboration across arts, heritage, and environmental sectors. Celebrated cultural duality and ecological links between Ghana and the UK.

• 14+ workshops across the Forest.
  Activated schools, care homes, African associations, and community spaces with rich, high-quality programming.

• Mobilised Black communities.
  Tackled exclusion and built belonging through drumming, storytelling, skills, and dialogue.

• Inspired climate action in Ghana.
  Shared films that sparked intergenerational conversations on climate and responsibility.

• Led land justice conversations.
  Held dialogues with Buipe’s King and civic leaders, blending indigenous knowledge with environmental action—informing our tree planting and school build.

• Preserved living heritage.
  Linked artists and elders to safeguard traditional knowledge and support a UK-based digital archive.

• Planted for future generations.
  Grew 35 acres of rosewood and native trees to support culture, climate, and livelihoods.

• Built cultural infrastructure.
  Nearly completed a traditional skills school with accommodation and a regenerative tourism model.

• Delivered and learned.
  Successfully ran our first funded project, building capacity and partnerships locally and internationally.

We’re ready to step forward with creative, inclusive and scalable ideas shaped by everything we’ve learned so far:

• Create the Nightjar Book – A children’s story co-written with young people who hold two homes in their hearts.

• Launch a Nightjar Artist Incubator – Supporting migrants to turn traditional skills into careers, either as artists or in to advance thier existing careers.

• Share Suitcase Stories in Care Homes – Using storytelling to explore the reality of working in the UK under No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) and sending money home.

• Create a Windrush Suitcase Story – A memory tool for people with dementia, rooted in oral history, designed to honour Windrush voices and right old wrongs.

• Support Black Heritage SEND Families – Provide therapeutic sessions for children while parents and carers navigate services they often struggle to access due to systemic barriers.

• Empower African and Caribbean Associations – Support student and community groups with creative toolkits that spark confidence, wellbeing and dialogue around heritage and belonging.

• Raise Awareness of NRPF – Use storytelling, animation, and play to make the realities of NRPF visible and understood.

• Co-create a Youth-led Nightjar Dance Piece – A new work exploring duality and belonging, told through movement by young people of the Forest.

• Run Nightjar Festivals Led by Community Groups – Support local African and Caribbean-led events to celebrate culture, amplify stories, and foster belonging – to share their stories and spirt with the wider world.

• Deepen Creative Health Work – Expand our work in schools, care homes, and mental health settings through drumming, storytelling, and traditional arts.

• Grow Our Infrastructure – Strengthen our team, board, and systems to meet demand and support long-term resilience.

• Continue Climate, Land Justice and Cultural Exchange Work – Through our Earth Child partnership in Ghana, we’re building a legacy of reforestation, intergenerational learning and cultural education.

Our work in Ghana is delivered by Earth Child Ghana, a Charity registered in Ghana, supported through African Activities CIC’s full cost recovery model. This means UK funders are not asked to finance overseas delivery, while we continue to deliver meaningful cultural exchange, mutual benefit, and shared learning.